BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS

Transgender child wins girls' bathroom rights

'Creates an environment rife with harassment'

Published: 06/24/2013 at 9:15 AM

(NBC NEWS) A transgender 6-year-old who identifies as a female should be allowed to use the girls’ bathroom at her elementary school even though she was born a male, the Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled on Sunday.

In a decision being hailed as a major victory by advocates for transgender Americans, the division concluded that the Fountain-Fort Carson School District created an unnecessarily hostile situation for Coy Mathis when it made the female bathroom off limits.

By not allowing Coy to use the girls’ restroom, the school “creates an environment rife with harassment,” Steven Chavez, the division director, wrote in the decision.